It didn’t take long for the Yankees to get after starting pitcher Scott Richmond last night as they put up a five spot in the second, chasing the young right-hander after just 1+ innings. A big part of the offence, finally, for New York was Mark Teixeira, who has had a horrific start to the season and had been flirting with the Mendoza line. He has yet to offer any technical explanations for his early struggles as a Bronx Bomber, but I’m sure there were more than a few people wondering what the hell was going on with their eight-year, $180 million dollar man.

Slump aside, the big slugger had a 2-for-4 showing which got his average from.191 to .202, and maybe that will be the psychological monkey off Teixeira’s back. With the return of Alex Rodriguez, he now has someone protecting him in the four hold and will allow him to be more aggressive. The Yankees had discussed moving Tex out of the No. 3 spot while he slumps, but Girardi is sticking with their big-ticket first baseman until things turn around.

Pitching matchup for tonight’s game:

CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94 ERA)
Sabathia was one of the numerous under-performing Yankees through the first month of the season but has shown signs of getting back to form. He was dominant against the Orioles last time out, tossing a four-hit shutout in his best performance as a Yankee to date. Unlike his first few starts, Sabathia had his full array of pitches and was getting all of them over for strikes.

It probably helped his cause when Alex Rodriguez belted a three-run homer in his first at bat of the year. The game was over from there as CC struck out eight Orioles and walked one, hurling his 11th career shutout.  

LHP Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.95 ERA)
Tallet will make his regular start as the Blue Jays adjusted their rotation for the Yankees series. Robert Ray was pushed back to allow Tallet to make the start in the third game of the series with New York. It's a good choice. Tallet is coming off two consecutive overpowering starts. He completed a career-high seven innings in each of his past two starts and allowed four runs and six hits combined. He's throwing strikes and working quickly. Only one of his five starts thus far could be considered bad. In 20 relief appearances against the Yankees, he has a win, a hold and a 2.86 ERA.

In five starts this season, Tallet is 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA. Aside from a poor outing in Kansas City, where he gave up 11 hits and 10 earned runs in only four innings, Tallet has not given up more than four hits as a starter and has yet to allow more than three walks. He recovered well from his rough outing against the Royals, going seven innings in his next two games. In his last start, he allowed only one run on two hits and two walks, while striking out seven.

Over the course of his five games as a starter, the left-hander has started to get the hang of taking the ball in the first inning as opposed to coming out of the bullpen.